Outline : 1) Structures of nucleotides 2) The formation of phosphodiester bonds in a polynucleotide 3) Distinguish between DNA and RNA 4) Structure of DNA

based on Watson and Crick Model

Found in nucleus of a cell, is the important genetic material of all living organisms. Elements : carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and nitrogen are bound up to form different compounds which are then linked up to produce different types of nucleotides. Polynucleotides are biopolymers of nucleotides that include DNA and RNA.

 DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) Double-stranded helical spiral (twisted ladder) Serves as genetic information center In chromosomes RNA (ribonucleic acid) Part single-stranded, part doublestranded Serves primarily in assembly of proteins In nucleus and cytoplasm of cell

 Consists of 3 components : A pentose sugar, a phosphate group & a nitrogenous base 3 components are linked together through condensation reactions. Pentose sugar and the nitrogenous base are joined together to form a nucleoside.

The 5th carbon of the pentose sugar linked with phosphate to form a phosphodiester bond.

Deoxyribose has the same structure as ribose except that it does not have an oxygen atom at its second carbon.

Single ring carbonnitrogen compound

Double ring carbonnitrogen compound

 Double helix form Was first discovered by Watson and Crick (1953) (evidences : X-ray diffraction photographs of DNA & chemical data on the base compositions of DNA) Diameter of DNA helix is 2nm. The distance between pairs is 0.34 nm A complete turn of the DNA helix consists of 10 base pairs with a distance of 3.4 nm.

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 a polymer consists of 2 polynucleotide strands held together by hydrogen bonding 2 strands are antiparallel, 5 to 3 & 3 to 5 4 different bases : adenine(A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) & thymine (T). AT (2 hydrogen bonds) CG (3 hydrogen bonds) 2 polynucleotide strands are complementary. Sequence of bases in DNA forms the genetic code that controls the activities of the cells & determines the characteristic of an organism.

Phosphate Group

O O=P-O O
Sugar (deoxyribose)

CH2 O N

C4 C3 C2

C1

Nitrogenous base (A, G, C, or T)

 consists a single polynucleotide strand

shorter than in DNA

Each nucleotide contains a ribose sugar, a phosphate & one of the 4 nitrogenous bases A, uracil (U), C & G Uracil in RNA replaces thymine in DNA 3 main types of RNA:

Messenger RNA (mRNA)

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) Transfer RNA (tRNA)

 consists a single RNA polynucleotide strand

mRNA contains complementary codons formed by the transcription of a single cistron (gene) on a single DNA strand.
Carries the genetic code transcripted from DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm where protein is synthesised. About 3 5% of the total RNA of the cell is mRNA.

 The smallest RNA molecules

Different tRNAs to carry different amino acids in the cytoplasm to the ribosomes for the polymerisation of polypeptide chains.
A single strand polynucleotide folded into a three-dimensional clover-leaf shape held by hydrogen bonds. The 3-end always ends in the base sequence of CCA and acts as the amino acid binding site. The anticodon consists of a base triplet sequence and is directly related to the specific amino acid carried by the tRNA molecule.

 Consists of a single polyuncleotide strand synthesised in the nucleolus. rRNA form aggregates with proteins to form the large ribosomal subunit and small ribosomal subunit . The subunits leave the nucleus via nuclear pore into the cytoplasm. The subunits combine to form a ribosome. It makes up about 80% of the total RNA of the cell.

Feature
Sugar Bases Strands Helix Types

DNA
deoxyribose C, G, A, T ribose C, G, A, U

RNA

Double-stranded Mostly single stranded Pairing across strand Double helix form No double helix form Only one type of 3 types (mRNA, tRNA, DNA rRNA) Heredity, cellular Interprets genetic info, control center protein synthesis Chromosomes of cell Cell nucleus and nucleus cytoplasm

Function
Where